I totally agree, @SaneIT, about stress sometimes becoming a badge of honor, as if piling on more and more is somehow admirable. The good news appears to be the next generations tout work/life balance as high on their list of good-job attributes, according to several studies i've read over the years. Hope they stick to that resolve as they have families, move up the career ladder, and face the challenges life often contains.

I recall an ex-colleague of my dad, who was a business executive. The colleague flipped one day, walked out of the job and moved to the south of France to live an existential lifestyle. Sounds great in a way, except he left his kids and wife behind.

Yes we do eventually hit breaking points but you don't have to look far to see just how far physically or mentally people can be pushed before they break. Some people will of course need to de-stress much sooner than others but even those who need more rest will eventually need less rest if they continue a pattern of stress. It has become something of a badge of honor in the business world to be able to keep going no matter the stress level but I think it shows another weakness, not knowing when to quit.

At first I was like 'what is Dave doing linking cheesy home-made movies on the Geekend?', but I have to admit, the eyeball in the mail slot got me pretty good. I don't know about clammy skin and adrenaline - maybe I've seen too much on the internet already. That raises a legitimate question about how stress differs for our generations compared to previous ones, doesn't it? The stereotype of the old lady fainting at an inappropriate comment (that's stress, right?)... well, compared to us, she has no idea what 'inappropriate' is. Do we have a higher threshhold for that kind of stress? Maybe that has a little something (just a little) to do with all these chronic health problems.

On a serious note, I'd definitely consider myself in the 'I'll believe it when I see it' camp. We don't know if this will bear any real fruit yet. Some people say our bodies are best at regulating themselves, and others says that's poppycock... I guess it usually turns out the truth is somewhere in the middle. Maybe this will lead to some drugs or what-have-you that kickstart a more natural healing process... or maybe it will just end up as a gimmick in the next horror game from Red Barrels (not that I'd complain). Anyway, this was a fun topic - can't wait for next week!

There's usually a breaking point, that time when you just cannot deal with a given situation any longer and that's when your body, soul, and mind reach out for alternatives -- perhaps finding another job, ideally, or not so healthily, pouring yourself into a bottle or a nervous breakdown. It's vital to find stress relievers, such as exercise or a hobby, but sometimes the only answer is to remove yourself from the situation as soon as possible. Even planning that exit can relieve stress!

Humans are very good at adapting to stress so yes, as time passes the nerves are reduced, performing becomes less stressful and it takes new stressors to get a rise out of you. When you see that breakdown in athletes over the course of a season it is typically cumulative injury. Unfortunately being afraid to run on a bad ankle doesn't heal it between games. Athletes play through pain because the alternative is not playing and that directly affects their source of income. Work stress is much the same, we get used to crazy deadlines, bad bosses, loud co-workers and we adjust, but sometimes cumulative injury (not specifically stress) brings an end to a season or career.

@tgjkg- Hrm...I suspect that performers get used to certain types of stress and it isn't stress anymore. For instance, I'm sure the first 5 or 10 projects a softwsare developer does are stressful because they want to keep their job. After a while they get established and cool down. I assume Broadway performers are the same way.

But it is true that ballplayers breakdown over the course of a season. I assumed it was from the pounding. Though i suppose it might not be. Good question.

You do need a certain amount of sress to perform well. Athletes need it as do public performers. Having said that would some one who is performing in a Broadway show every night have chronic stress? Or a baseball player who plays usually 6 days per week? Certainly the regular working stiffs have stress from their jobs, commutes and then at home. Where does it end? I have to try Yoga!

As InformationWeek Government readers were busy firming up their fiscal year 2015 budgets, we asked them to rate more than 30 IT initiatives in terms of importance and current leadership focus. No surprise, among more than 30 options, security is No. 1. After that, things get less predictable.